Amendment to conscription law means those who have not served must pay £5,700 or have assets seized

A legal amendment in Syria has been greeted with anger and dismay by people displaced by the civil war who are now at risk of losing homes and property they left behind unless they pay exorbitant fines to the government in Damascus.

Bashar al-Assad’s sanctions-hit, cash-strapped government, looking for ways to raise money in any way possible, announced a change to an article of the law concerning military conscription earlier this month. Under the amended law, those who did not do military service before the age of 43 must pay $8,000 (£5,700) or lose their property without notice or any right to appeal.

This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.